EXETERA INTERVIEWS HARRY PARSONS: HIJACKED MIX

Opening the 2016 Hijacked series, ‘Our House’ Harry Parsons lays on the table a classic house and techno compilation of twelve records he simply loves. Parsons celebrates his second term of Hijacked residency with a festival mix saturated with beat-less, ambient introductions and techno build-ups. Exetera talks with Harry about the new spacey Double Locks set-up, experimental rock influences and about bringing that unique Our House touch to Hijacked.

(Photograph by Harry Bowley)

Great to chat with you, Parsons. As a two-term Hijacked Resident, paint us a picture of what to expect from the festival this year with its return to Double Locks.

So this year, Hijacked is turning Double Locks into a cosmos-like playground and I’m pretty excited about it. With two smaller stages enclosed by a ‘bowl’ shaped set-up, the original Double Locks venue really suits the ‘intimate festival’ label Hijacked markets itself with. Space, is also a great theme for the location. Without saying much, expect a seriously impressive quality of classy headliners. Big names from previous years, like Big Narstie and Blonde, were always good fun, but expect a major step up this year.

Tell us about the influences behind the mix. Are you using samples from Our House sets or can we expect something completely different from last year?

Completely different from anything I would play for an Our House club set. Zero drums for the first twelve minutes, it’s a totally ambient introduction. The tracks slowly then become a little more techno. It is literally a collection of twelve records that I love. Expect a bit of Radiohead and Burial at the end, I am really into that ‘live feel’, experimental rock sound at the moment. I’m not going to put a track list out.

The mix has been an individual project, which involved bringing the sounds together in around two hours in one go. Last year, I spent too long being overly experimental with layering of sounds for a psychedelic feel. This year is really more of a classic house and techno mix. It is a bit rougher, but I like that it is imperfect.

Is that the main thing the Our House collaborative try and bring to Hijacked, ‘something different’?

Hijacked crowds expect diversity and to hear a bit of everything. Certainly on the main stage, hosted by Hold it Down and Thick as Thieves, commercial variation is the way to go. But absolutely, Our House curates the second stage this year and we are currently in discussion with some exciting, forward thinking artists to bring out different dimensions. Hijacked is a fun space to try sounds out that aren’t just a bunch of club tracks. Harry Fox and I are hosting Hijacked radio sessions in the leading up few weeks. Four two-hour shows which are very much worth tuning in for.